Nebraska officials said Thursday they will start allowing people receiving food assistance to buy soda and energy drinks again.
The move comes after the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last month struck down waivers given to Nebraska and four other states.
The waivers, approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, allowed the states to prevent people from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits from buying sugary drinks.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the USDA relied on the wrong section of law, ignored a congressional definition of food, and failed to allow public comment when it approved those restrictions.
Nebraska was the first state to receive the waiver, which took effect Jan.1. Gov. Jim Pillen at the time had promoted the restrictions.
“There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Pillen said last December. “SNAP is intended to help families access nutritious food, and there’s nothing healthy about what we are removing through this waiver.”
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that it is working with retailers in the state to remove the restrictions on soda and energy drinks.
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